MATTHIJS GEUZE

Matthijs Geuze, a national of the Netherlands, is currently Head of the International Appellations of Origin Registry, in the Brands and Designs Sector of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In this capacity, he is in charge of the administration of the International Register under the Lisbon Agreement and the on-going review of the Lisbon system for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration since 2009.

Matthijs Geuze joined the International Bureau of WIPO in 2002, where he was, initially, responsible for all legal matters relating to the operation of the international registration systems under treaties administered by WIPO, in the area of trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications. In December 2003, he became a member of the cabinet of the Assistant Director General responsible for the area of trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications, in which capacity he was involved in policy questions in that area and related legal, administrative and institutional matters.

Following graduation, he worked for the Dutch Patent Office from 1981 to 1989, on behalf of which he was involved in legislative work on industrial property and in international negotiations on intellectual property matters, in particular trademarks, within the framework of the European Union and WIPO.

In 1989, Mr. Geuze joined the GATT Secretariat in Geneva, where he assisted in servicing the Uruguay Round Negotiating Group on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). From 1995 until 2002, he was Counselor in the Intellectual Property Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva and Secretary of the Council for TRIPS of that Organization.